Nordic’s nRF91 SiP incorporates global multimode LTE-M/NB-IoT modem, ARM Cortex-M33, GPS and more in a tiny package. (Image credit: Nordic Semiconductor) After my “Monster Sensor” project here on element14, I have been a huge fan of Nordic Semiconductor’s product line. I look forward to working with this new chip. Three years after its development, Nordic Semiconductor will be releasing their latest low-power cellular IoT nRF91 solution at some point in the ...

Functional Safety offers the required risk-reduction to assure safety in the presence of systematic or random faults. Systematic failures happen due to a design flaw and are present in all implementations. Engineers take care of these using Quality Management Systems (QMS) to trace the design and development methodologies, the manufacturing process, the operational procedures, the documentation, and other relevant factors used on the overall system. Random failures are transient faults or soft ...

A Swedish tech company specialized in power gap solutions, is bringing to users of portable devices a new type of battery that is greener than the ones currently used. (Fuel cell LAMINA by MyFC) Power gap, the difference between the amount of energy available and the amount of energy needed, could be the responsible for much of the struggle with smart devices battery. Every smartphone user has certainly experienced the rapid loss of power characteristic of those devices. It feels as if t ...

Functional Safety is moving away from being an industry requirement to become normality within products; more of those solutions are incorporating complex embedded hardware and software that relies on a specific execution of commands and safety-related functions. Functional Safety systems are helping to mitigate the risk of damage or physical injury to the health of people caused by first- and second-hand hazards; Functional Safety systems detect those hazardous conditions and provide danger red ...

Electric and Electronic (E/E) Systems and Functional Safety have been present in different markets like defense, aerospace, and medical for some time now. However, the growing relevance of Functional Safety within the automotive market is pushing the semiconductor industry nowadays to drive innovations faster —at almost the same pace of consumer electronics. Engineers are being required to trade off between cost and safety while developing E/E systems: making design-constrained comp ...

Broadcom Ltd has been trying to take over Qualcomm Inc without any real answer from the Qualcomm, but all might change at Qualcomm’s next shareholders meeting. (Images via their respective companies.) Two rival companies are fighting over the market for wireless products. On one hand, Broadcom Ltd, a company well versed in the art of making wireless products, seems to be thriving since the creation of the company. On the other hand, Qualcomm Inc is recognized for its contribution to the e ...

Talk about inspiring... all of this is great. The story behind the creation of sticky notes is incredible given that they have changed the way we plan our daily activities or do the simplest task like reading a book. The story goes that in 1968, DR. Spencer Silver, a chemist at 3M, was looking to create a strong-hold glue, but failed and was left with a weak-hold glue he had no application for. For the following 5 years, he tried to promote his new invention, but nobody really knew what ...

Mixed reality using a virtual reality headset. (Image credit: Pierre-faure via Wikipedia) Time to invest! Mixed reality is on the fast track to rival AR and VR but still lags behind regarding development. There are far more applications for the latter even though the first mixed reality system came out in the early 1990’s with the US Air Force’s Virtual Fixtures platform. A novel system that featured a pair of robotic arms controlled by the user wearing an exoskeleton ...

Prof. Con Slobodchikoff. In about a decade, pets' owners will have the tools to converse with their pets in a year that will revolutionize humans and animals' interactions. (Image via Conslobodchikoff) Decoding the secret meaning behind every single noise pets make has always been humans fantasy dreams. Pets' parents have made it their mission to build a better relationship with their pets, in an attempt to "read the mind" of their furry babies. Hollywood has made movies about animals wh ...